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Melville Madness: a 3 part guided discussion of Moby-Dick

March 02, 2016

Moby-Dick is arguably the greatest literary masterpiece of 19th century America, and its author, Herman Melville (1819-1891), is one of most imaginative and influential of American storytellers. Narrated by a sailor named Ishmael, the epic tale recounts the obsessive quest of Captain Ahab for revenge on the white whale Moby Dick, which on a previous voyage destroyed his ship and severed his leg at the knee. This March, Knox County Public Library is pleased to partner with UTK’s College of Arts and Sciences department of Modern Foreign Languages and Literature to present Melville Madness.

Facilitated by Dr. Dawn Coleman as part of UTK’s semi-annual AuthorFest series, the public is invited to take part in a guided discussion of Moby-Dick at Lawson McGhee Library, 500 West Church Avenue, 6:30–8:00 on March 15, 22, and 29. Light refreshments will be served.

Dawn Coleman is Associate Professor of English at the University of Tennessee. Author of Preaching and the Rise of the American Novel, she specializes in nineteenth-century American literature and has written and taught extensively on the writings of Herman Melville. She is the book review editor for Leviathan: A Journal of Melville Studies, a contributing scholar for Melville’s Marginalia Online, and a research associate with the Melville Electronic Library. She is also co-organizing the Melville Festival at UTK this April. She has read Moby-Dick more times than she can count and is transported each time.

More About AuthorFest:

The AuthorFest series was established in 2015 as a way to publicly celebrate the world's most influential writers and their many contributions to human life and thought. It represents a collaboration of UTK's departments of Modern Foreign Languages and Literatures and English, the Knox County Public Library, and a host of other participating departments and offices on the UTK campus. The series brings in major experts from the United States and abroad, facilitates book clubs and reading groups, and produces theatrical, artistic, and scholarly engagements with great authors' creative work. At these festivals, UTK students, faculty, staff, and the greater Knoxville community enrich their lives by coming face-to-face with world literary heritage.

Melville Festival is a university and community celebration of the writing of Herman Melville (1819-1891), one of most imaginative and influential of American storytellers. In fiction from Typee to Moby-Dick to Billy Budd, Melville spoke to humanity's most pressing philosophical, ethical, religious, and social questions.